Jeremiah 1:11-12 – Every promise of God will come to pass

In the call of Isaiah, God gave the prophet a vision of Himself high and lifted up with the train of His robe filling the temple. The prophet also saw Seraphim standing above the awesome God, each with six wings. Two of them were used to cover their eyes, two to cover their feet, and the remaining two for them to fly around. One Seraph would proclaim to another crying out, “Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of Hosts, the earth is full of His glory.” It was a majestic sight and plenty of object lessons concerning the holy and awesome God. Many things could be learned about God from Isaiah’s encounter, but we shall not deal with them here.

As for Jeremiah, God’s object lessons to him did not come at the same moment as his call, but on two other separate occasions. On the first occasion, God directed the prophet’s sight to an almond tree and on the second to a boiling pot and an iron pillar. Each of these visions has object lessons for him and for God’s people. In this reflection,  we will look at the vision and message of the almond tree.

In different places that experience the four seasons,  there are different signs to signal the end of winter and the arrival of spring. In Anathoth where Jeremiah hailed from, the sign of the arrival of spring would be the blossoming of the almond trees. It would be the first tree that would blossom when spring was about to break.  God’s word came to Jeremiah on one occasion and alerted him to the blossoming of almond trees. He asked the prophet “What do you see, Jeremiah?” He answered saying, “I see a rod of an almond tree.” What Jeremiah saw was the budding of an almond rod. The reason God pointed to the blossoming almond tree was to send His message in a way that would be humanly comprehensible. God was using the blossoming almond tree to point to a spiritual lesson to Jeremiah and to us.

Following the prophet’s answer, God commended him and then went on to tell him the significance of the blossoming almond tree. His message to Jeremiah and to us is: He Himself is watching over His word to bring it to pass. God never says anything that He will not bring to pass. Whether positive or negative, a blessing or a curse, whatever God has promised it would be brought to fruition.

The Hebrew word for almond sounds like the word “waking” or “watching.” God used it as a pun here to say that the almond tree was not only a waking tree but also a watching tree. He was pointing out to Jeremiah and to us that He, the Creator God never sleeps nor slumbers. He is always wide awake and watching over His every promise to fulfill it. Whether positive or negative, a blessing or a curse, God’s word will always come to pass. In short, God is saying that He will always fulfill His word. According to Isaiah, the word of God when it is spoken will never return to Him void. It will always accomplish the purpose to which it was sent forth.   

What a promise! This is our hope and joy. God will never say anything that He would not personally supervise and ensure that it will come to pass. How many of the promises of God are we accustomed to?  Hear what God is saying to us through 2 Peter 1:3-4. “…His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature….” What blessed assurance! Every promise God made to us through His Word will be brought to fruition in our lives. What a blessed thought!